Four Utah companies on Forbes' 'America's Most Promising' list

SALT LAKE CITY — Four Utah companies were featured as some of "America's Most Promising Companies" by Forbes Magazine on Wednesday, using software that measures a company's health.

SALT LAKE CITY — Four Utah companies were featured as some of "America's Most Promising Companies" by Forbes Magazine on Wednesday, using software that measures a company's health.

CampusBookRentals.com, Packsize, Domo Technologies and Aquatherm were among the 100 companies ranked in the Forbes list. The companies were ranked based on compelling business models, strong management teams, investment capital and strategic partners.

"Sizing up younger, privately held companies is hard: Their fortunes can change very quickly and there's a dearth of public data," said Forbes executive editor Brett Nelson. "We took a more comprehensive approach to evaluate their health and potential."

CampusBookRentals.com, an Ogden-based textbook rental site, was the highest ranked company in Utah, sitting at 31st out of 100 companies.

The company, which started in co-founder Ken Martin's basement in Syracuse, rents textbooks at about half the price of a new purchase.

"We've been fortunate to build a good business model," Alan Martin, the company's chief executive officer and co-founder, said in an interview with Deseret News. "The whole thing has been serendipitous and we've been fortunate to grow as quick as we have."

Prices are set based on online demand, professor requirements and publisher data, according to the report.

The textbook cost saver received $20 million in Series A funding on Aug. 2 and brings in $8.8 million in annual revenue.

Packsize makes machines that create form-fitting shipping containers to reduce packaging volume by about 40 percent. The machines have brought in clients including Overstock.com, Ikea and Ethan Allen.

The Salt Lake City-based company employs 102 people and brings in $42.6 million a year in revenue. Packsize falls in at No. 60.

Business intelligence company Domo Technologies ranked No. 73 on the Forbes list.

The Lindon-based company has a $43 million backing from Benchmark capital and angel investors like John Thompson, chairman of Symantec.

Josh James, the company's founder and CEO, helped start Omniture, a Web analytics firm that sold to Adobe Systems in 2009 for $1.8 billion.

"We've identified a huge market in business intelligence, and we are fortunate to have the right people behind us as investors, board members and employees," James said in a statement to the Deseret News. "We are thrilled to be recognized in this group of notable up-and-comers and even more excited to get out there and start exploiting this opportunity."

Formerly based in Germany, Aquatherm's headquarters is now in Lindon. The company makes environmentally friendly pipes made of polypropylene, which it imports from Germany. Its customers include Wal-Mart and Marriott.

Aquatherm is ranked no. 76.

Forbes based its judgments on complex data mining software developed by CB Insights, a Manhattan-based data firm that monitors investments in private, high-growth companies.

Joey Ferguson is a business reporter for the Deseret News who focuses on public finance. He joined Deseret News after graduating from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a bachelor's degree in journalism in May 2011. He more ..